Wings of True Love
by ZaraTsubasa
Summary: This is a TMNT and Tsubasa crossover, with my three OCs as the main characters; serious but passionate Yasmine, happy-go-lucky Tikara, and hotheaded Aika. Of course they're accompanied by Mokona Modoki- but not the one we're familiar with. Read more to find out. ;) Don/OC, OC/OC rated T for violence and a female/female pairing or two.
1. Part 1: Peril Approaching

**Wings of True Love**

**Part One**

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!

Yasmine groaned and pressed the 'sleep' button on the ancient alarm clock that sat next to her bed. Why did she even _keep_ the annoying device around anymore?

Her question was answered when she rolled over to see the picture of a sweet young woman with a five-year old child {Yasmine} in her arms.

"Hey, mom," Yasmine whispered hoarsely as she smiled slightly.

Yasmine's alarm clock had indeed been a present from her mother. After all, her mother _did _love materials from other worlds, and they were _awfully_ hard to come by anyway. The alarm clock had come from a place called Earth, somewhere in a universe called the "Milky Way".

But that was nowhere near Yasmine's world. Her world was the futuristic world of Sapphire, in the Gemini Universe. (Even though it had always been Yasmine's childhood dream to visit Earth)

Yasmine quickly rolled out of her bed and shot out of her bedroom, (one-half of the two-room apartment in which she resided all by herself) racing toward the holoscreen attached to the wall of the room that was supposed to be a kind of kitchen/living room. The holoscreen wasn't very big, so Yasmine always had to keep her face very close to it. No, Yasmine definitely wasn't **anywhere** close to rich, but she didn't give credits (Sapphran money) a second thought this morning. She had managed to program her holoscreen to broadcast the animated projections that the people of Earth called "cartoons", and her all-time favorite was broadcasting on Earth at that very moment. Yasmine excitedly slid in front of her holoscreen and fumbled with the buttons below it until the screen sprang to life, and the familiar theme song that Yasmine had all but memorized began to play.

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES! Turtles countin' off! 1, 2, 3, 4, Turtles! Mutant chain reaction! Turtles! Livin' underground! Turtles! Ninjitsu action! Turtles! It's a shell of a toooooown!"

Yasmine giggled as she sang along. It was mornings like this that made her love Saturdays.

* * *

Princess Cara Citrene sighed sadly, a tone of worry accompanying the sigh. Her world, Sapphire, was in grave danger. There was an awful enemy on the horizon, and there was very little she could do about it.

Princess Cara Citrene had only two special magics. 1) She could see into other peoples' hearts and 2) she could, with the proper circumstances, send a being to see a certain witch of whose powers were much greater than Cara Citrene's could ever be.

The enemy was closing in on the world of Sapphire, and the time where Princess Cara Citrene would need to use her second power was drawing very near. But Cara Citrene also knew that the one she sent would have to be _very_ strong-willed and pure-hearted. That was where the first power came in. For months coming up to this date, Princess Cara Citrene had searched each and every heart that lived in Sapphire, **finally** yielding results. After months of constant prying and extreme energy loss, the princess of Sapphire had found an amazingly strong child, who would be able to take the dimension-spanning journey necessary to locate her worlds' salvation.

The princess was quickly jerked from her disturbed thoughts as a powerful earthquake shook her castle.

"PRINCESS CARA CITRENE! YOUR MAJESTY!"

The princess turned sharply to see the source of the voice, Krystal, her most loyal servant.

"What is wrong?" Cara Citrene demanded, though she was already well aware of what was happening.

"It's them, your highness! The enemy has begun to take hold of Sapphire, and the ensueing pressure on the Dimensional Barrie we set up is causing an earthquake that is shaking all of Sapphire!" Krystal shouted over the noise of the quake.

Princess Cara Citrene nodded.

"Then it is time to retrieve the one that I must send to the witch," the princess decreed as Krystal hurried away, "Find her quickly and bring her back here, Krystal, the fate of our world depends on it! Find and bring me Yasmine Tokogawa!"

------------------

Hey everybody!!! Hope you're enjoying yourselves, 'cuz part two is coming within the next day or so!


	2. Part 2: Our World's Only Hope

**Wings of True Love**

**Part Two**

Yasmine smiled to herself happily as she made herself a bowl of Protein Flakes [it's similar to cereal, only twice as healthy].

_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never gets old, _she thought with a grin.

But she was brought brutally from her reverie as an amazingly powerful earthquake-more powerful than she'd ever witnessed before- hit. She gasped lightly as the fragile bowl her Protein Flakes had been in broke, food and glass-like shards spilling over her pajama top.

"What's happening?" Yasmine couldn't help but cry out. But she forgot her about her shirt for a split second at the sound of a knock at her door, and she hurried wobbily as the ground continued to shake.

"Yes?" she half asked, half shouted over the rumbling, though she was cut off by a gasp as she realized who her visitor was.

It was Krystal, a very important palace servant, standing in Yasmine's doorway, the look on her face _meaning business._

"Yasmine Tokogawa, I presume?" Krystal asked.

"That's me!" Yasmine shouted as she tried to grab her doorframe for support.

"Her highness, Princess Cara Citrene, requires you at the palace immediately. It is of the **utmost** importance."

Yasmine blinked, surprised at how dead serious Krystal seemed.

"Uh, okay, sure! I could never deny an audience with her Highness!" Yasmine exclaimed as she quickly slipped into a pair of old-fashioned clogs and, despite the fact that she looked like a total slob, hurried out the door following Krystal.

Yasmine stopped for a split second outside her apartment, shocked at her suddenly apocalyptic surroundings. How could a single quake have caused such damage, and within seconds? Outside the building, people were running, other buildings were starting to crumble, and dust and debris were _everywhere, _and an awful burning smell filled the pungent air, causing Krystal and Yasmine to cough, and their eyes to burn_. _But something else was happening, Yasmine could feel it.

She couldn't help but gasp aloud and stop in her tracks as she stared up at the sky. Indeed, the normally purple sky had turned a violent red, and had actually started fluctuating and undulating!

"Ms. Tokogawa, _hurry_! We _must_ reach the palace!" Krystal called urgently back to Yasmine.

"But Krystal, the sky!" Yasmine screamed back over all the panic and confusion, with a hacking fit following.

Yasmine still hesitated, but Krystal went back and insistently yanked her into a run, the two of them _sprinting_ for Sapphire's palace full-out, though the thought of the sky was still hanging in the very back of Yasmine's head.

* * *

"Greetings *cough* your *cough, cough* Highness, it's a pleasure to *cough* meet you! *cough, cough, cough*" Yasmine tried her best to greet Princess Cara Citrene, with what seemed to be a kind of half-curtsy accompanying it.

Cara Citrene smiled at the dirty, coughing, pajama-clad girl as though the child were her own.

"Greetings, Yasmine Tokogawa. I apologize for such circumstances, but you see, our world is in great peril," the princess's smile faded into a look of disturbed worry.

The earthquake sill continued, even after several minutes, and Yasmine gave a surprised shriek as an amazingly strong pulse shook the palace, before kneeling, clutching the ground, and answering, "Does this have anything to do with what's happening to the sky?"

Yasmine's eyes watered with despair as the princess nodded sadly, but she quickly continued, "That is why you are here. I have sent for you because an evil entity is beginning to work its way into our world in order to take it over. This cannot be, and thus I must send you across the dimensions, to visit one known as the Time-Space Witch, one who can send you to find the only...ah...._person_ who is capable of saving he world of Sapphire."

"Who is this person?" Yasmine asked suspiciously, and was thoroughly shocked with Cara Citrene's answer.

"I believe you already know him, Yasmine. He is the one with olive green skin, a purple ninja. His name.......is Hamato DONATELLO, and he is our world's _only_ hope!"

Yasmine couldn't help it-her head snapped up, her eyes widened severely, and she gasped loudly as she screamed, "He's REAL? _**YOU'RE KIDDING ME**_!"

"I don't kid, Yasmine. Donatello-sama is _very_ real, and you _must_ find him, or else the world of Sapphire faces imminent doom."

Yasmine's eyes were busy contracting, but she nodded to show that she understood what the princess was telling her.

"Go now, Yasmine Tokogawa, go to the Time-Space Witch, and beg her to grant you access to dimension-crossing power, so you may be able to find Donatello-sama and bring him here.. Hurry, he is our last hope!"

With that being said, Princess Cara Citrene raised her left hand, her hand beginning to emit orange and purple swirls of magic that moved over to encompass Yasmine instead. The swirls surrounded Yasmine, lifting her off the ground, but not before she looked through the swirls at her princess, shouting;

"Don't you worry, your Majesty! I swear on my honor that I _will_ bring him back! Trust me; I'll be back soon, Princess Cara Citrene!"

Then Yasmine disappeared, the princess's magic taking her to see Yuko, the Time-Space Witch.

Princess Cara Citrene sighed, a single tear falling, as she whispered, "Be careful, Yasmine Tokogawa, and come back safely. Come back safely, my dear little cousin."


	3. Part 3: The TimeSpace Witch

**Wings of True Love**

**Part 3**

Yasmine stared about her. She was traveling through what was no doubt some kind of dimension-spanning tunnel. Bright blurs of color swirled and flew past her, and it seemed as though she were traveling at very high speeds. Yasmine held her breath. There was something wrong with this tunnel, or with her, or maybe even both. Either way, it was terribly hard for Yasmine to breathe, and she wondered vaguely if she would suffocate before she even reached her destination.

_Don't be ridiculous_, a voice in Yasmine's head shot at her, _her Majesty would never allow that to happen, how's about a little faith here?_

But no matter what the voice in her head was saying, suffocating is still suffocating.

Yasmine's eyes widened as a bright speck of light appeared below her. Her eyes widened incredulously. She had seen enough Earth programs to know that 'seeing the light' was never a good thing.

_I'm **dying**?_ she thought in disbelief, _No! I can't possibly let the princess down like this! If I can just hold my breath for a few....more....minutes..._

But the light wasn't inside her head. It was the end of the tunnel, and Yasmine soon felt herself free falling.

The tunnel dispersed from around her and Yasmine finally caught enough breath to scream as she plummeted.

"WAAAAAAH!" Yasmine exclaimed, but she quickly found herself connecting with solid ground as she flopped like a rag doll on rain-soaked grass. She drew a big breath of fresh air, relieved, but her breath caught for a second as a figure approached her. Yasmine tensed as she found herself staring at an insanely pale, dark-haired woman clad in a mostly black dress and tall black boots staring right back down at her.

"Are you the Time-Space Witch, the one who can grant dimension-spanning power?" Yasmine asked, still breathing heavily from the tunnel. She blinked uncertainly as the lady smirked at her.

"I have been called that. And you are...?" the woman returned.

"My name is Yasmine Tokogawa. I come from a world by the name of Sapphire, in the Gemini dimension, and that very world is now in grave danger. I have been sent by my world's princess, Princess Cara Citrene, to beg you for the power to cross worlds in order to find the only being that can save my home world from destruction," Yasmine stated hurriedly. Was that pity in the witch's eyes?

"Do you know where you are, Yasmine Tokogawa?" the witch asked her.

"Uhm........no, I'm afraid I don't,"Yasmine murmured softly.

"You are in a shop that will grant any wish, as long as the proper price is paid,"the witch replied, "That meaning that if you wish to be given dimension-spanning powers in order to save your world, you must pay a price."

Yasmine didn't flinch, "Fair enough. I will pay your price."

"You haven't even heard what that price is," the witch raised an eyebrow at Yasmine's willingness.

"For my homeland," Yasmine stated with finality, "No price is too high."

The witch smiled warmly. "Those are very courageous words for such a young woman. But not even your greatest possession would be enough to grant your wish. Thus, you will not journey alone"

"Eh?" Yasmine asked. But she gasped in surprise as the rainy sky above her opened up the same way it had for her, only twice now.

"Your traveling companions have arrived," the Time-Space Witch anounced.

Yasmine only stared as two beings arrived, one on either side of her, "Eh?"


	4. Part 4: The Seventh Generation Assassin

Hi everybody! I'm sorry I haven't updated this thing in so long, it's been a WHILE, hasn't it! I'm also sorry that the previous chapters have all been so short, but I feel that I've gotten a lot more experience here since I took a pause on this story, so let's put it to good use, shall we? This chapter is especially dedicated to TMNT-Kreative-Tanke and one-who-loves-Sesshy, for this story's first and second ever reviews! *applause* Thankyou, both of you! So, without further ado, part 4!

**Wings of True Love **

**Part Four**

Tikara Tikono, seventh generation assassin for the country of Kodansha, breathed hard as she raced towards the location she and her fellow ninja had designated as a rendezvous point, a baby boy in a sling around her shoulders.

Tikara gave an annoyed sigh as the Rogue ninjas she was constantly fighting against gave chase, and the baby whimpered slightly. Actually, the baby boy was the _reason_ the rogues were chasing her in the first place. He was, believe it or not, the boy king of Kodansha, Prince Sanyun, and he was next in line for the throne. But these rogues were doing everything in their power to destroy or kidnap Sanyun, and take over the country as an anti-monarchy dictatorship.

As though Tikara was going to **let** them.

Tikara gently shushed the tiny prince as she continued to run, "its okay, my prince, quiet now, we'll be alright."

But Tikara wasn't all that sure. On one hand, she could keep running, but her fellow comrades would most likely be found out. Or she could turn and fight, but then Sanyun's safety would be put at risk. And either way, there was a 75 percent chance Tikara would be caught.

"Hey, Tikara, need any help?" a sunny voice chirped breezily.

Tikara sighed in relief as she saw one of her fellow assassins, Sunako Tetsu, and her twin brother Negi Tetsu, hurrying to her aid.

"As a matter of fact….." Tikara started calmly, before beginning to shout, "YES! YES I DO!"

The raven-haired girl only grinned at her friend's annoyed outburst, knowing better than anyone that her best friend hated to be chased, before yanking her blade from her pocket and charging at the enemies.

Tikara grinned back, feeling her spirits rise back to their normal high heights.

"HERE." She said steadfastly, quickly handing Sanyun off to Negi. The amber-eyed boy stuttered slightly but nodded. Negi was always low on confidence, despite his wonderful ninjitsu skills, and though at sixteen he wasn't much younger than the others, (Tikara was a year older, and Sunako took pride in the fact that she was the elder twin by ten full minutes) he normally left the fighting to the older girls anyway.

"You baddies want a piece of me?" Tikara shouted at the top of her lungs, feeling a rush of energy that she always got when fighting gush into her veins, "Well take THIS!"

Tikara yanked out one of her twin daggers in one hand, and a few shurikens from the pouch on her waist in the other, and screamed the name of her favorite attack as loudly as possible.

"ライトニングの祝福-電動フラッシュ!" (LIGHTENING'S BLESSING-ELECTRIC FLASH!)

Tikara spun around in a circle, releasing her shuriken. At the same time, she slashed the bare air with her dagger, emitting a tremendous energy pulse, and both the pulse and shurikens hit the group of rogue ninjas Tikara had been aiming for simultaneously.

Tikara laughed openly, flipping backward to avoid countering assults.

Without any of its participating members noticing, the battle had reached the end of the block, onto the roof of the last house before the earth gave way to the Suraibā ryū Sea, (Suraibā ryū means silver dragon) a body of water that stretched to meet the horizon line. It was said that the water was so deep, you could sink for miles without reaching its bottom. Yet none seemed to notice, especially not Tikara Tikono.

Tikara whooped, backflipping all the way to the roof's edge, fully unaware of her peril. Tikara stoppd flipping and sheathed her dagger, standing still for just a moment.

The next few moments seemed to happen within a matter of seconds.

One of the masked rogues, the leader no doubt, pointed his blade directly at her, launching his attack.

"黒龍-致死死ストライク!" (Black Dragon- Lethal Death Strike!)

The attack hit Tikara straight in the chest, causing the female assassin to lose her footing and fall from the roof, the attack propelling her into the sea.

"GYAAAAAAAA-mfrlrj!" Tikara screamed, before she hit the water full force, her cry muffling as water entered her mouth.

"Oh NO!" Negi shouted. If there was one thing he knew about Tikara Tikono, it was this- she was scared of water, and had never learned to swim. (a/n: this _will_ be explained later on, but for now I'll leave you in the dark as to why Tikara's scared of water, ya know, to "add to the mystery" ;D heh heh heh)

"TIKARA!" Sunako schreeched, golden eyes huge with panic, "TIKARA, NOOO!"

~Beneath the water of the Suraibā ryū Sea~

Tikara flailed as she sank deeper and deeper into the water, flipping with the current until she was unsure of which way up was. The girl gasped desperately for air, only for her mouth to meet more and more water.

Tikara's eyelids began to droop slowly, as she began to lash out less and less, gradually giving in to the water's wishes and begining to drown.

Until the sound of a splash reached her ears, indicating that she was no longer alone. Tikara looked up, meeting the emerald green eyes of a strange new man. She was positive she'd never met him before, his deep black hair was in an unfamiliar style, and his clothes were nowhere near those of the country of Kodansha. Yet he smiled down at her as though he'd known her forever. (He smiled _down_ at her because he was right-side up, and Tikara was falling upside-down ^^)

_**"You wish to live, do you not, Tikono-san?"**_ he asked. Tikara gasped. She could hear his voice, or what she assumed was his voice, in her head, and yet his lips weren't moving!

_How is this possible? _she wondered to herself.

_**"You would be rather surprised as to what is possible."**_ his voice rang in Tikara's head again, as the man's smile widened slightly. Tikara's eyes widened.

_H-He can hear... my thoughts? _Tikara wondered in incredulousy.

_**"Indeed I can, Tikono-san. Now, you wish to live, yes?"**_ his voice asked her.

_"Yes...yes, I wish to live,"_ Tikara thought in reply, _"But why do you want to know, who are you?"_

_**"I want to know beacause I can help you," **_the man's voice responded, _**"And as for who I am, Tikono-san, I am a friend, and that is all you need to know for now. Now, will you accept my help and live, Tikono-san?"**_

At this point, the man reached his hand down to Tikara, smiling hopefully. She hesitated, unsure as to whether she could fully trust him. But one glance at the endless watery abyss she was surrounded by, and Tikara knew she had no choice; if this man didn't help her, she would surely drown. Though it would have been against her better judgement should it have been a different situation, Tikara put her full trust in this "friend", reaching her hand back towards his.

_"Yes, friend, if you can help me, I'll be more than willing to accept. Just please don't let me die!"_

_The man's smile became contagious, and the assassin couldn't help but tentatively return it. But her smile vanished a moment later, and her eyes widened substantially at the sight before her. _

A thick, yellow tendril of energy was being emitted from the man's hand, slowly winding its way towards Tikara. Tikara pulled her hand back slightly, as if to withdraw, but the yellow power quickly snaked its way around her awaiting hand before moving down and encompassing the rest of her arm, along with her neck and both shoulderblades. As the power sucked in her other arm and moved down for her torso, she was astonished to see that the limbs the power had already swallowed were no longer solid. Instead Tikara could only see the outlines of her apendages.

Finally the yellow power had swallowed all of her lower body, leaving only her head free. Tikara looked up at the man who was supposedly her friend, realizing that his smile had never faltered. Once again Tikara returned it.

_"Thank you, I suppose,"_ she thought to him.

_**"You are welcome,"**_ he replied, _**"Good luck on your journey, Tikono-san."**_

Tikara blinked. Journey? She looked up, only to see that he was gone.

As the man's power swallowed her whole, Tikara couldn't help but think to herself.

_What on earth could he have possibly meant?_

And then, Tikara Tikono, seventh generation assassin of the country of Kodansha, was gone.

* * *

No, Tikara is not, I repeat, IS NOT dead. You'll see what happened soon enough.

I'm finally out of my writing funk! Kinda! Yay! I was originally going to show the second traveling companion in this chapter, too, but this chap's pretty long, so I'll save it for the next chapter.

As for Tikara's mysterious, nameless rescuer, it'll be a while before you meet him again. Sorry! But it helps with suspense!

Next chapter will hopefully be up a LOT sooner.


	5. Part 5: The Butterfly Witch

SEE? The next chapter is here, sooner than the last one was! ^^ Toldja so! :D Now, just a chapter or two more and then the plot takes hold! Thank you guys for being so patient, and a shout out again to TMNT-Kreative-Tanke and one-who-loves-Sesshy for the reviews, u guys rock! Now, here we go again! XP And yes, Mai is based off of Chi. I have a feeling that it's pretty obvious, but I just needed a Chi-like character to keep Tersu company, so Mai arose ^^`.

* * *

**Wings of True Love**

**Part Five**

Aika frowned sadly at the red haired, lime green eyed young preteen boy before her.

"B-But Aika!" the boy protested, close to tears, "you _can't_ leave! Wh-what could Mai and I possibly do without you?"

As he said this, he guestured in a perturbed fashion to a short girl even younger than he with long dark locks, wolf ears, pale violet eyes, and a small wolf's tail protruding from the dark purple robes she wore, who watched the scene unfolding with a tiny frown of her own, though she dare not enter the fray herself.

Aika's frown deepened, but she fought to keep her voice emotionless as she continued to address the boy, her brother.

"You will do what you must, Tersu. You know full well that I must leave this place, the Miko dimension, or else," she stated calmly, trying hard to ignore the small tears that raced each other down her little brother's cheeks.

The three were in a long, white hall, with gilded gold-yellow tapestrys spanning it, and as she finished Aika then stepped past Tersu to view a large chunk of pure crystal set against the wall before her at the end of the hall. The crystal was inscribed with various strange symbols in red energy; wards, but what Aika was truly staring at was the form of an older woman trapped within the crystal.

The woman had flowing, very dark red hair that reached her ankles, emerald green eyes that were severely glazed over due to her imprisonment. The woman wore long gold robes that hung off her frame loosely, had a ruby tiara around her forehead, and she had a small, ruby ring around her right ring finger. She looked so helpless and vulnerable, with her palms facing upward and her glazed eyes half-closed, but Aika knew better than that.

"But-but!" Tersu stammered, groping for something that he could say to keep his beloved older sister from leaving him, possibly forever, but she quickly silenced him.

"No, Tersu. I'm doing all that I can, and now you must do the same. Besides, you have Mai to protect you. But when High Priestess Rina escapes from her crystal prison, she will no doubt go after me. You shouldn't have to worry about her even aknowledging you or Mai, since she knows how to track my magic. Besides, Tersu, she could never possibly hurt_ you_. You mean so much to her, after all," Aika turned to assure her brother, but she could see the creases of worry developing on his tear-stained face.

_"I'll be fine, little brother,"_ Aika murmured, smiling tenderly, _"No matter what, I **will** be fine, and I promise you that much."_

At this point, Tersu broke down, racing to his older sister and hugging her, sobbing heavily. Aika smiled sadly, hugging Tersu back, closing her eyes, and softly humming the lilting melody of the lullaby their late parents her always sung them to sleep with.

"Fear not, my brother," she murmured when she was finished and Tersu had cried himself out, "We'll be okay. We're survivors, remember?"

Tersu grinned through his tears at this, nodding slowly and giving Aika, the Butterfly Witch, his sister, a final hug before letting go.

"Mai?" Aika asked, finally aknowledging the small girl, who up until that point had been standing stll, her hands folded and a small, sad smile on her face.

"Yes, Aika-dono?" Mai asked politely, her wolf ears pricking slightly.

"You wouldn't mind if I changed you a tiny bit, would you?" Aika asked slowly. The wolf-girl's sad smile broke into a grin as she shook her head vigorously.

"Mai doesn't mind at all, Aika-dono," she responded, smiling proudly, "After all, Aika-dono _made_ Mai."

Aika smirked back and nodded, before raising her left hand, on which her own ruby ring was perched, and tracing a series of symbols in the air with red energy from her now-glowing ring, bending the end symbols until it touched the beginning symbol so the symbols formed a circle, shrinking the symbols until they were a tad smaller than the size of a roll of Scotch tape, and then finally pushing the small circle of symbols in the direction of Mai, her tiny creation.

In turn the small red circle arrived in front of Mai, before it wrapped around her neck and became a red ribbon, surrounding the small wolf girl's neck until it fit snugly, tying itself into a bow in the front, and then as a finishing touch a gold bell appeared in the middle of the bow, completing Aika's gesture.

"There," Aika said, sighing in a satisfied manner, "Once High Priestess Rina escapes, you'll be able to contact me using that, okay Mai?"

"Yes, Aika-dono. Mai understands," the wolf-girl replied, nodding.

"Be careful, Aika," Tersu said tentatively.

"I will, Tersu," Aika responded with a last sad hug before nodding to Mai, "You'll protect Tersu, won't you Mai?"

In response, Aika's little creation rushed forward and joined the hug.

"Yes, Aika-dono!" Mai babbled, smiling hopefully, "Mai will keep Tersu-sama safe and happy, and Mai will make Aika-dono proud!"

"I'm sure you will, Mai," the Butterfly Witch responded with a smile, "I'm sure you will."

Finally, Aika the Butterfly Witch withdrew from the hug and straightened, before turning to stare at the older womab imprisoned within the crystal tablet.

_As long as you are in that form, _Aika thought with a tiny inward smile, _I hope that you are happy...Rina-sama._

"Now," Aika said strongly, raising her left hand again as once again her ruby ring began to glow, "it's time... to see the Witch!"

"Good-bye, Aika/Aika-dono!" Tersu and Mai called in unison, waving.

And in a flash of bright red light, Aika the Butterfly Witch had disappeared.

* * *

Alright, there's part numero cinco for ya! Next part is when the REAL fun begins ^^ WHOO! Oh yeah, and the only reason I ended Tikara's and Aika's parts so similarly is because I couldn't think of any other ways to end them *shrugs* Whatever!


	6. Part Six: And so, The Journey Begins!

**Wings of True Love**

**Part Six**

"Eh? !" Yasmine exclaimed, staring up at the rainy sky in amazement.

On either side of her, the sky was bending down to touch the earth in a pair of drops. The two drops dipped within a few feet of the grass, then burst, depositing a pair of women unceremoniously onto Yuko's lawn.

"GAAAAAAAAH-!" the figure falling on Yasmine's left yelled as she dropped to the ground, landing on her stomach with a hard thud.

"Oww…" the girl groaned into the grass, making no clear effort to get up. Yasmine noticed immediately that she was gasping for breath, panting even harder than Yasmine had been when she had arrived. This, combined with the fact that she was thoroughly soaked, caused Yasmine to deduce that she must have been submerged in water quite recently. Why? … Yasmine couldn't as easily deduce that.

Yasmine took a closer look at the girl, studying her curiously.

She was a girl of about seventeen, lithe in build and taller by far than the (*ahem*) 'vertically challenged' Yasmine, with shoulder length jet black hair in a pageboy cut and chocolate brown eyes. Her clothing was simple and built for movement; she wore a sleeveless orange Mandarin- style shirt with gold embroidery and the transparent image of a wolf across the abdomen, plain black shorts, black wristbands with a golden wolf image adorning each one, and flat black shoes that were easy for running. The only points of consequence about the girl were the twin wolfs head daggers strapped to her waist (as well as the small leather pouch below them that no doubt held more weapons) and her tiara, a thick gold band around her forehead with a circular orange gem in the center.

There was the thump of person landing on grass, and Yasmine turned in time to see the figure that had fallen on her right landing, on her feet no less. Apparently she was a lot more used to this sort of thing than Yasmine or the dark haired girl.

Though she looked to be only a year younger than the girl with dark hair, the newest arrival couldn't look more different. Her build was petite but sturdy, and she was only a head taller than Yasmine. Quite opposed to the other girl's short, black hair, this girl's locks were quite long and a vivid shade of blood red, pushed back by a dark green headband. Similarly, while the other girl had clothing that was mostly plain- boyish, even- this second girl's clothes were, in contrast: elegant, feminine, and intricately detailed. She wore a long sleeved, off-the-shoulder dark green dress with a thick red sash around her waist that ended in a black and white butterfly decoration. Translucent butterflies shimmered on her dress, fluttering and shifting across the dress as she moved, and attached to her back was a large pair of decorative black and white butterfly wings. There was a long red cloak draped around her shoulders, with an overlarge hood that almost obscured her face, and on her feet were delicate, dark green high heeled shoes.

A long pause had stretched within the yard as Yuko allowed the two new arrivals time to acclimate themselves. Th redhead lowered her cloak's hood, obviously not caring about the rain as she surveyed the yard, her sharp beryl green eyes darting about. Meanwhile, the dark haired girl rose up to her knees and sat back as she looked around, having realized for the first time that she was in unfamiliar surroundings. Slowly, both wandering pairs of eyes landed on Yuko, and the silence was broken as the two girls spoke in unison.

"Eh? Where am I, and who are you? !" the dark haired girl asked.

"You are the Dimensional Witch, are you not?" asked the redhead.

The two girls blinked in surprise and turned to stare at one another. Green met brown as the two became aware of each other for the first time. (3)

"Who are you?" they asked each other at the same time.

"Welcome," Yuko started in, deciding that this was a fine time for introductions, "to my shop. State your names and/or titles, please."

The dark haired girl glance from Yuko to the redhead and back again, then, deeming the situation safe, stood up and rose to her full height. Just as Yasmine had predicted, she towered over the others.

"The name's Tikara Tikono, seventh generation assassin for the royal court of Kodansha," she rattled off- this seemed to be the way she always introduced herself.

Yuko nodded at the information and turned to the redhead, "And you?"

"One of the last Butterfly Witches in the Miko Dimension, I'm afraid. I am called Aika," the red haired girl stated calmly. Again Yuko nodded.

"You three," she began, studying the young women before her, "have all come here to Japan under different circumstances, with varying degrees of willingness and various different reasons. However, one thing remains the same; each of you has a wish."

"Japan? !" Tikara exclaimed, shock and confusion on her face, "You mean I'm not even in Kodansha anymore? !"

"My home world…" Tikara and Aika began, again in unison

"… is where I've gotta be!" Tikara finished determinedly.

"… is the one place I cannot be." Aika finished expressionlessly, at the same time as Tikara.

Then, once again, Aika and Tikara turned to stare blankly at each other.

"That is a lot to ask… for _either_ of you," Yuko said plaintively, "or maybe I should say… for _all three_ of you."

Aika and Tikara stopped staring at each other as for the first time they became aware of Yasmine as she sat there on the wet grass in her pajamas. Yasmine blushed with self-consciousness as the two stared now at _her_ instead.

"It seems that alone, none of you have anything valuable enough to properly grant your wish," Yuko said, "As I told Yasmine, not even your most precious possessions would be enough to pay for such a grand wish."

"What… are you saying?" Aika asked, frowning deeply in the first, even slight, display of emotion Yasmine had seen from her.

"Humph, maybe we should let her _explain_, Ms. No Expressions. She _does_ seem to be the expert, after all," Tikara huffed, crossing her arms.

"I AM _NOT_ 'MS. NO EXPRESSIONS'!" Aika yelled at Tikara, her first true expression yet looking like 'anger', "YOU HEARD ME WHEN I SAID IT, MY NAME IS AIKA!"

"B-but! Uhm," Yasmine spoke up uncertainly, not wanting to anger the redhead further but needing an explanation, "Wh-what does the Witch- san mean when she talks about prices?"

Aika turned to Yasmine to explain, though she still looked irritated, "Traveling across worlds is a disruptive process. We have to give up something as a price in order to keep the balance of the universe maintained. But…" Aika's agitated face flickered with uncertainty, "it seems that none of us have enough with which to pay…"

"Not quite," Yuko broke in. She seemed to be very deep in thought as she spoke, "Perhaps… if the three of you combined your payments for _one_ wish, then that just might be enough to grant your requests."

She was about to speak again when the thud of approaching footsteps sounded behind them.

"Eh?" said a voice from the entrance of the yard, "More people falling from the sky, Yuko-san?"

The women all turned around to see a bespectacled young man standing at the gate, an umbrella in one hand and a school bag in the other.

"Indeed, Watanuki," Yuko replied to the boy, "and you're just in time. Go to the very back of the treasure room with Maru and Moro; there's something very important there that we'll need."

Watanuki obeyed and ran into the shop, where a girl with pink hair and another with blue hair were ready and waiting for him at the door.

As the three disappeared into the shop, Yuko turned back to the confused stares of Tikara, Yasmine, and Aika.

"Yes," she said with certainty, "if the three of you pay together, then you should be able to afford the wish. After all… your wishes are one and the same…"

Yuko nodded, turning to each girl in turn.

"You, Tikara, wish to return to the world from which you came.

"You, Aika, wish to travel to any number of worlds as long as they are _not_ your own.

"And you, Yasmine, wish to travel to one world in particular in order to find a specific person and save your world… Or rather…"

Yuko stopped. "That's not quite correct, is it?"

She slowly walked up to Yasmine, lifting the young girl's chin so that Yasmine's large grey eyes were level with her red.

"You… are incomplete," Yuko said softly.

"I-'incomplete'?" Yasmine whispered.

"Yes," Yuko continued slowly, "It wasn't a recent occurrence, but at some point in time, a great number of your memories were scattered. It's quite surprising that, though you remember so little, you never noticed."

"I-! I remember plenty!" Yasmine exclaimed defiantly, moving from Yuko's grasp and rising to her knees.

Yuko looked down at Yasmine calmly, her expression unreadable.

"Oh?" she asked Yasmine steadily, "Then why don't you answer some questions for me? Have you any childhood friends?"

"Yes," Yasmine started. She remembered that she'd had four close friends growing up… but… Yasmine stopped and frowned. As hard as she tried, she couldn't recall their names or faces.

"Where did you grow up?" Yuko continued.

"I…" Yasmine shook her head. She and her mom had lied in their two-room apartment for many years, it was true- Yasmine was still living there now, even a year after her mom's death- but they hadn't moved there until Yasmine was eight. And where they'd lived before that… she wasn't sure anymore.

"What are your parents' names?" Yuko asked steadily.

Finally, a question Yasmine could answer!

"My mother's name was Tenshi Tokogawa," Yasmine said confidently, "and my father's name-" Yasmine stopped again, as if her mind had hit a brick wall. Her father's name…?

"Yasmine," Yuko said quietly, kneeling in front of her and looking her in the eyes gravely, "What is your middle name?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yasmine heard the crystal clear sound of a mirror shattering. Stunned, she fell back from her kneeling position and sat down hard.

Yasmine couldn't remember. She honestly couldn't remember, and now a giant void where those memories should have been stretched before her, when she hadn't even known it was there.

"Hey!" a voice said sharply. A warm hand grasped Yasmine's shoulder, and she looked up slowly to see Tikara glaring daggers at Yuko. "Leave her alone, she's just a kid!"

Yuko stood up calmly, as if Tikara hadn't said anything.

"Why- why…?" Yasmine whispered dully, her light brown bangs falling into her eyes. With great effort, she pulled herself together and brushed her bangs away.

"What…" Yasmine started, trying to regain composure, "What does this change?"

Yuko looked as if she were on the verge of a smile as she answered, "It changes only your goal. You will still need to retrieve he whom you are searching for, but know this; he alone cannot save your world. No, Sapphire can only be saved by his power and yours _combined_."

"What? !" Yasmine exclaimed, leaping to her feet. Yuko held up a hand to calm her down.

"Yes, Yasmine. Believe it or not, you have great magical power within you that's just waiting to be unlocked. And for this to happen, you will need-" Yuko reached into her dress sleeve and pulled something out "-these."

Yasmine gasped as she felt a jolt of electricity shoot down her spine.

In Yuko's hand was a glass shard, like that from a mirror, except it didn't reflect anything around it; instead, it showed the golden image of an angel's wing.

"This, Yasmine, belongs to you," Yuko stated.

"Wh- what is it?" Yasmine murmured, eyes locked on the shard.

"It is a fragment of your missing memories- one of many. Each of these fragments contains a portion of your power, and, if you are to succeed in your gambit, you will need to piece together all of those mirror shards of yours that were scattered across dimensions. Do you understand?"

Yasmine took a deep breath, feeling her determination returning, and nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Yuko said, "Your three wishes may be different, but the method is the same; you all wish to travel, to one or many dimensions. Individually, none of you can make this happen; however, if the three of you were to combine payment for a single wish, you could afford it."

"Supposing this was true," Tikara stepped forward, studying the witch inquisitively, "What would serve as payment? Let's say, as an example, for me. What could I pay you with?"

"Whatever is most precious to you. For you, it's those weapons you carry: those twin daggers and pouch of shurikens," the witch responded calmly.

Tikara however, did not react as calmly. She jumped back, eyes wide as if she'd been slapped, and her hands curled around her daggers protectively.

"Wha-? !" she exclaimed, "Ko and Mera? ! And my shurikens, too? How- how _dare_ you! Never!"

Yuko chuckled as she replied, "Fine, then you can wander aimlessly around this world for as long as you like. But I hope you realize that you're trapped here, and I'm the only one in this world with enough power to get you home."

"NO WAY!" Tikara yelled incredulously, "Now THAT'S a lie!"

"Actually," Aika said with a slow smirk, "she's telling the truth."

"AH? !" Tikara shouted. Aika's smirk widened.

"So," Yuko said with a smirk identical to Aika's, "What will you do about it?"

For several seconds Tikara stood motionless hands curled around the twin daggers and her dark hair screening her eyes from view.

After a long pause, she looked up, brown eyes red-rimmed and murderous.

"Fine." She growled, her voice low.

Clearly moving as quickly as she could in order to be done with it, she yanked the daggers from her waist with one hand and the leather pouch of shurikens with the other and held them out to the witch.

"Just-!" Tikara said through gritted teeth, "take good care of them. They're my most precious possessions for a reason, okay?"

To say the least, neither Yuko nor Aika smirked anymore as dark red swirls of the witch's magic gently took Tikara's weapons from her.

Tikara's price paid, Yuko turned to Aika.

"Your price… is that ring around your finger," she said.

Ever Tikara's opposite, Aika stayed very still, as if she were concentrating her hardest on not reacting at all.

Silently, Aika lifted her left hand, no doubt to get a last look at her ring. It was beautiful; gold, with magical markings engraved on it in inlaid silver, and a glittering ruby stone set in the center.

Aika sighed heavily.

"It has to be this?" she asked dully, "Nothing else will do?"

"Sadly, no," Yuko responded, "I told you, the price must be he thing you value most."

"Very well then," Aika said, slowly twisting the ring off her finger. She held out the ring in the palm of her hand, and Yuko's magic claimed it as well.

"And now you, Yasmine," Yuko said at last, "Give to me that which is most precious to you and you will gain that which your princess asked you to procure: the power to cross dimensions."

Yasmine looked at Yuko confidently. "Yes."

"Know that I can only let you move from world to world," Yuko said sternly, "You will need to find your memories and he whom you search for on your own."

"I know." Yasmine replied.

"You are strong for your age. I like that," Yuko said, smiling.

There was the sound of running footsteps as Watanuki finally returned, the girl with pink hair and the girl with blue hair both behind him.

"You brought it?" Yuko turned and asked him.

"Yes," he replied.

It was then that Yasmine realized that there was a black… something riding on Watanuki's shoulder, and there was a silvery grey something he was carrying in his arms, which he handed off to Yuko.

Upon closer inspection, the silvery grey something was actually a living blob with silver grey fur, long rabbit-like ears, small arms, big feet, and a large purple gem on it forehead.

"This is Mokona Modoki," said Yuko, introducing the silvery grey something to the group, "Mokona will lead you from world to world on your journey."

"Hey, wait," Tikara said suspiciously, pointing to the black Mokona on Watanuki's shoulder, "You've got more than one. If I just take the black one, I can get home!"

"No. You see, this Mokona is one of a set of three, born and raised for this very occasion- this very point in time. There's a white Mokona with a red gem, that black Mokona with the blue gem, and this grey Mokona here with the purple gem. The white Mokona is already in the possession of a different group of dimension travelers, and only the white and grey Mokonas have the ability to traverse dimensions. The black Mokona cannot travel, but it can keep communication with the two other Mokonas. That will be how you contact me once you're in other worlds," Yuko explained.

"Although the grey Mokona can take you to different worlds, there is no way for it to control which world you go to. Thus, only fate can determine when each of your individual wishes will be granted," she carried on, "know this, young travelers; there is no such thing as coincidence in this life. All there is is hitsuzen. And what brought the three of you together, to this place, was also hitsuzen."

The witch then turned to Yasmine to collect the final price.

"Yasmine. Your price… is the relationships that you have."

"I- I don't understand," Yasmine responded, a confused frown on her face.

"The thing you value most is not something tangible; it is the people who have been around you and the relationships you've shared with them. Near and far. Living and dead. Remembered… and forgotten. None of these relationships can ever be the same again," Yuko stated.

Yasmine stood there for a moment, letting this all sink in as the witch continued.

"None of the relationships you have now can ever remain as they were. In one way or another, they will change, for better or for worse, and those changes will affect you greatly. And thus, those adverse changes in the relationships you've had… that will be your price," Yuko finished calmly, "That being said… what will you do?"

Yasmine stayed very still, thinking of what this would all mean. There would be difficult changes ahead of her that would affect not just Yasmine- but the people she loved as well. That was what the witch was saying.

Like images on a holoscreen, pictures of Yasmine's loved ones appeared in her mind's eye. She saw her mother and father; her best friend at high school, Haruhi; Takeshi and Shotaro, her co-workers at the repair shop where she worked. She saw Princess Cara Citrene and Krystal, who had placed all of their hopes for Sapphire's future on her shoulders- she saw the four dear friends she'd had growing up, whom she couldn't even remember now. If she paid this price, then she wouldn't have those bonds to rely on anymore. To be honest- Yasmine couldn't think of anything scarier. And yet…

"Even… if I _don't_ pay that price…" Yasmine said slowly, her bangs hiding her eyes again, "those relationships will change, regardless. Sapphire will fall, and this will all be for nothing. I refuse to let that happen!"

Yasmine looked up with determination as Yuko asked, "Do you accept, then?"

"Witch-san," Yasmine replied strongly, "consider your price paid!"

"Very well," Yuko responded with a nod, "Be warned, young travelers; travel between dimensions is more dangerous than you could ever imagine. Each dimension has its own set of rules that will change from world to world. People you know, people whom you've met on your world, have developed under completely different conditions in other worlds. In other worlds, they will not know you. You may meet the same person time and time again in different worlds, but just because that person was your friend in one world does not guarantee that they will treat you in kind on the next. Scientific developments, laws, standard of living… they all change with the world. You will find worlds full of criminals, worlds built on lies, worlds locked in constant wars. Through all of this, you must survive, constantly searching for your Chosen One and those fractured shards of memory… and you would still see your journey through?" she turned to Yasmine questioningly.

"I will," Yasmine said confidently.

Yuko smiled.

"I see…," she said calmly, "I said this once to the previous group of dimension travelers, and I will say it to you as well; sincerity and determination. No matter what a person wants to attempt, those are what is needed. And with that being said…"

Yuko held out Mokona, who sprouted a pair of silvery angel's wings as a magic circle appeared below it.

"You may go!" said the Time- Space Witch.

Mokona opened its mouth wide, and with the force of several vacuums, it started sucking the three girls in.

"Yasmine," Yuko called.

"Ah! Yes?" Yasmine called back. Squinting through the bright silvery glow of Mokona's wings, she saw the witch holding out the glass mirror shard.

"This is for you," Yuko said quietly.

As soon as Yuko released it, the glass shard sped forward to Yasmine. She gasped in surprise as, as if summoned by the shard's power, a circular mirror appeared from her chest. It was small yet beautiful, with gold circling the rim and the pattern of white wings surrounding the edge, but it was broken, with only a few jagged pieces of glass remaining inside. Yasmine blinked in awe as the mirror shard glowed with golden light, approached the mirror and integrated itself into it flawlessly, as if it had never left. Finally, the small mirror sank back into Yasmine's chest, and as it returned she felt a powerful wave of sleepiness consume her.

"Ah! Hey!" Tikara shouted, catching Yasmine as her knees buckled, "What the hell is going on? !"

But her question was never answered, because at that moment Mokona sucked the three girls into its mouth and disappeared. Just as darkness consumed Yasmine, her journey with Tikara and Aika began.

However, had she been awake- or still in that world, for that matter- Yasmine would have seen Yuko smile at them as the rain finally stopped, and heard her speak upwards to the sky.

"I wish… you three the best of fortune on your journey!"


End file.
